Field of the Invention
The invention relates to work-stations.
Background
Work-stations, also referred to as cubicles, have become an economical way for companies to efficiently use office floor space. Work-stations enable a large number of workers to work side by side with limited privacy and barriers to distraction. Most work-stations are three sided and have no ceiling. To provide some dampening of outside noise, masking audio is often projected from the ceiling above a set of work-stations or a work-station area. People often find that the sound masking does not adequately mask all sounds, as some surrounding sounds can enter through the open face of the work-station or reflect off of the ceiling above the work-station, walls, floor and any hard surface into a person's workstation. Many people report that they can very clearly hear noises and conversations from a particular proximal work-station due to direct sound and the reflection issue. Some employers try to abate these issues by increasing the sound masking volume, thereby making conversations outside of work-stations and in the open areas more difficult.
Work-stations are relatively small enclosures that can be dark and somewhat cave like with only a single open face. These work-stations leave occupants feeling detached and isolated from their nearby work associates. Many people complain that the work-stations are too dark, as they are typically made of textile covered panels that block the light from offset overhead lighting and ambient light from windows around the building. The light entering the work-station is therefore limited to direct light from overhead, or light entering through the open face of the workstation. For this reason, opaque walled work-stations typically require additional lighting within each of the work-stations; costing the employer additional money in energy and maintenance costs.
There exists a need for a work-station that allows more ambient lighting to enter, one that more effectively reduces outside sound distractions and that leaves people feeling connected and able to more easily see what is happening around them.